Posted By:
webmaster
root
IL/WI Border 12-07-2011 13:13
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I hunt both Northern IL and Southern WI. Normally our season in IL ends around the 15th of December.
I can tell you that in the past 20-years, we freeze out and ducks are gone by the close (except in very limited areas near cooling ponds). Basically anything past Thanksgiving here is a gamble.
So be careful what you wish for. Having days to hunt with ice and no ducks is as bad as closing early and still seeing ducks. Last year with the early snow storms, EVERYTHING was gone by Thanksgiving including the geese.
It’s a dice roll no matter how you look at it. Guess it depends on how you want to roll it.
Posted By:
DU870
Web Member
12-07-2011 11:50
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Trial Lawyer- I think your idea has merit. My main concern with the later end date and split is if we get a early cold snap, the back waters and small ponds freeze up. Also with a split, when would it be? We have good numbers of birds by the end of October and normally hold them through November with new birds arriving through out that period.
Posted By:
huntingcaliber
Guest
12-06-2011 14:27
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Trial Lawyer, I know that all of my fellow duck hunters in my area would support the cause. We are located in southern Walworth County and would like to see the season open up 3 weeks later with a 10 day split and go through December!! Let me know what we all can do to help??
Posted By:
Trial Lawyer
Web Member
western wisconsin 12-05-2011 15:59
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Every year it’s the same thing for those of us in the northern zone. Duck hunting really starts to pick up after Veterans Day and is closed about 1 1/2 weeks later.
I’ve spent most of my adult life producing and arguing evidence to convince juries and judges about the merits of my client’s case and I think with a coordinated effort, we should be able to overcome the shouting of the “good old boys” and convince the DNR of the merits of having a split season for the northern zone with the season ending in mid-December. If all of us on this list work in a coordinated effort, we should be able to overcome the resistance to change. The dates of the migration have changed and so should our season dates change.
Let me know how many of you think having a split season with a mid-December closure would be a good idea by posting your comments to our list. If we have sufficient interest, it seems to me we could pool our talents and resources to confront the status quo and maybe have our collective voices heard by our decision-makers.
I for one, believe that facts overcome conjecture and science overcomes fiction.
Joel W. Brodd
Posted By:
DU870
Web Member
Columbia cty 12-05-2011 11:10
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Ended the season with 4 mallards. My dog had a couple great retrieves. Worked some birds in real close and had a good hunt to end 2011. Next year will be more wood duck houses, some habitat work and hopefully some good ducks numbers.
Over all a good year, I didn’t see the numbers the FWS said was out there but I don’t think we get a lot of Migrators where I hunt. New ducks did arrive in good numbers back in October but they did not stick around for very long.
Posted By:
MallardKingWI
Web Member
12-05-2011 10:55
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Does this mean Webbie is fixing things?!
Kearney got a double post instead of the triple post after mine? 🙂
Posted By:
REARNEY
Web Member
Pool 4 Mississipi/ Lake Pepin 12-05-2011 09:30
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Ended the season on Saturday with a friend. We ended up with 3 mallards, 8 Goldeneye and 1 Canada goose. Didnt go Sunday, went to check spot where I could walk in Sunday and saw over 100 mallards sitting. Mallards are here now and season is over.
Posted By:
Kris-Bertelsen
Field Editor
Chippewa Valley 12-05-2011 08:54
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Great end to the season, but that is how it has gone for the last 5 years. Last weekend is always the best.
Ducks – mallards everywhere, go figure! Too bad.
Geese – Eau Claire is loaded, Chippewa Falls is loaded, Altoona is loaded, Stanley is loaded, Boyd is loaded…get the hint. Limits in the fields both Saturday and Sunday. Tried a cold field (no geese in it yet) on Saturday and still had 5 shooting opportunities. WOW. Sunday was on the X and got our limit in the first three flocks. Watched a thousand or more pile in the field for the next hour. My buddy hunted outside Altoona on Saturday and limited on geese. He could have limited on mallards – twice.
All in all a tough season, below normal numbers of birds until the last two weeks for me. 10 months to go!
